Getting Started with Linode!

Having troubles deciding on an Iaas (Infrastructure as aService) provider in 2019? Well, check this problem off your list as by the end of this post, I will have solved it!

Where to Start?

The Background!

First off, Linode is by far, one of the big brothers in the Iaas game. Linode started off in mid 2003, with three data centers to its name. Fast forward to 2018, and Linode has expanded to an astonishing nine datacenters!

This is compared to DigitalOcean, and Vultr, who were founded in 2011, and 2014 respectively.

Fact check Linode!

Some brief facts about Linode:

+100 employees

+$100 million in revenue

Founded in mid 2003

Iaas provider, or infrastructure cloud

$45 million investment in 2013 to switch to SSDs, double all server’s RAM, and incorporate faster processors. (Same prices)

How do I get started?

Getting started with Linode is extremely straight-forward and painless. Seriously, Linode has overly simplified the process of deploying and managing your server instances with scale and reliability. This is probably the main reason I have chosen to make Linode my primary hosting provider in 2019.

In order to deploy your first server, you will need to register for an account on Linode. You can do so using the following link (it supports this site), which can be found there -> Linode Signup.

Deploying your First Instance!

After creating your account, you can deploy your first server instance by navigating to Linode’s Cloud Manager (cloud.linode.com), and then:

Click Create -> Linode

Linode Create Instance

Choosing your server image?

Linode Images

After completing the previous step, you will be prompted to first choose an image for your server. Don’t worry, I’ll make this decision for you…

Choosing the right image!

If you’re new to managing servers as a whole, I’d recommend that you choose “Ubuntu 18.10,” as it is by far the easiest server-side operating system (os) for beginners to work with. On the other hand, If you have experience in the server world, feel free to choose any image you like.

Choosing a Region!

Linode Regions

Next up on the list, is to choose the region where you want your server to be deployed! I recommend if you are just experimenting with Linode and it’s capabilities, to deploy a server in the region closest to your location. The only reason I recommend this, is because it will most likely have the fastest upload/download speeds for you.

Otherwise, I recommend deploying your server in a region, where you think the majority of your users are located(so they get the fastest upload/download speeds).

Server Plan

Linode Plan

After choosing the region for our server, it is now time for us to choose our server’s plan. Basically, this just means “what are the specs for your server”.

Before we go ahead and choose our plan, it is noteworthy to say that Linode uses “hourly billing,” which means that you can literally deploy and delete your server instance at anytime, and you’ll only be billed for the amount of hours it existed(if you power-off your instance and don’t destroy it, you will still be billed).

Again, I’ll give my recommendations:

If you’re new to server management:

Choose the Nanode tab -> Nanode

This server will cost $5/month

If you’re experience in server management:

I recommend that you choose the plan that will fit your needs, based on what you will be using this server for.

Choosing a label!

Linode Label

Now we have to choose a label for our Linode instance. Basically, all a label is, is that it’s just a way of organizing what each of your instances do. Setting a label only reflects in Linode’s Cloud Manager… It does not affect the actual server in any way.

And the second part to a label, is the tag. Basically, tags are just ways to group your instances in Linode. So, if you have multiple instances you can group them by “web server”, “load balancer”, “storage” per se.

I promise, we’re almost done…

Root Password?

Linode Root Password

Finally, what is a root password? Basically a “root password” is the password for the root user. The root user can be considered the default “administrator” of a server. So, you’ll want to make a pretty strong root password(No pun intended – password gauge meter).

Note: I purposely skipped the optional section, as it doesn’t offer any advantages to new users.